Is it Spring...it might be Spring?

The weather  forecast is looking amazing for this week and I'm beyond excited to be putting some distance between myself and Winter. 

Now, that means the return of blackflies and mosquitos, but at this point I'll accept them as
trade for some sunshine and warm weather. I'll just be walking around with the continuous odour of "Eau de Deet" by Off! sprayed liberally allover my person. LoL

My SciFi romance it in the hands of my editor. I haven't decided if I'm going to self put this one for forward it onto a publishing house once I'm done polishing. Time will tell.

The past couple weeks I have been working on a category romance....because my brain can't stay in one genre for more than one book at a time. This one is tentatively titled.  "His Mercenary Temptation" and I'm having fun flipping the gender roles in this one. My Heroine is the badass with a dark past and my Hero, (hile still sporting a hefty supply of badassery in his past), he's been running a lavender farm for the past few years.

A simple case of switched suitcases that changes the live of two people who might never have crossed paths otherwise. Never tempt fate ;)  This is turning into a super fun book to write with so many colourful side characters...it'll probably end up a series. Heck I might as well set that up now as I'm writing because I'm not going to want to leave this group behind when I'm done.

 It's that time of year! We're coming up on April Fools Day and I can remind everyone of the April Fools For Love group I belonged to. These books are a couple of years old but they were so much fun to write and read!!

They're all stand alone books, only an April Fools prank backfiring is their common theme. My contribution is...

 Must Love Menage  

Chloe keeps a strict policy of not mixing work and play. But play is exactly what she wants with both her hotter than sin bosses.

Rumors and false accusations from an ex-girlfriend forced Ben and Sam to close their Florida restaurant and try to reopen one in Bayburgh. They’ve vowed never to date an employee again, but the vivacious Chloe is temptation personified.

When a series of events cascades from a prank gone wrong, the three of them end up committed to running in a charity race. Training for the event throws them together outside of work and opens the opportunity to explore the attraction they’ve been denying at work.

Will Ben and Sam to risk everything by inviting Chloe into their lives, not knowing if she’s willing to be shared?

MUST LOVE MENAGE

If you have been struggling with your brains lately, especially with all the terrible things going on in the world in the last month...and it's been a hella month.

You're not alone!!

Again for you in the back hiding in the shadows. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!

Truth is, I've struggled with panic attacks since I was 17years old. It hasn't been a non stop battle, but there are times when I felt like it would be. The last 3 weeks have been a challenge for me personally, rolling panic attacks suck especially when the rational side of my brain KNOWS what it going on but the neurodivergent side is like "Meh, don't listen to that. I'm the honest one."

I'm not putting this out there for sympathy or comments, but I know there are people out there who are feeling the same way. And it's hard to say anything out loud or admit that anything is wrong because that will make it real. So we struggle in our heads and plant smiles on our faces so no one else will know.

I know. I get it.

You're going to be okay. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. This will pass.

I'm not a therapy person...it works for a lot of people and I wish it worked for me, but I have a brain that insists on doing everything the hard way...and that means research and reading and findings answers on my own. That way I don't have to admit anything out loud, I guess.

I'm not saying my way is the right way, hell my way is not anything I would suggest to anyone else.

But, don't give up on yourself. You're strong. You can do this. I believe in you.

Space and SciFi

I don't know if there is a bigger variation in genres than there is in SciFi. It's a big stretch if you think of one end of it being Mel Brooks "SpaceBalls" and then look all the way to the other side with "Dune". 

Those two movies are creatively light years apart, although they are still under the same umbrella.

Which is what had me thinking about where I wanted my books to land. While creating detailed worlds like in Dune is beyond what I wanted to work on, I do want more substance than the campy side of the genre. (Anyone else remember "Ice Pirates"). 

I'm trying to stay in and around the Firefly - The Expanse area of the genre. Thought out worlds but not super detailed to the point of information overload. I'm writing romance, so I still want the love story to be the focal point, which makes for a delicate balance act between the two. 

But, there are advantages to being able to create what ever I need around my characters to push them forward or throw more obstacles in front of them. 

Edits on this book are taking me a while because I don't want to mess this balance up, but I'm still hoping to have it ready for submission by the end of the month and then focus back on Sophia Meets Seduction.

It feels good to flexing these stiff creative muscles every day again. 

Winter Storms & New Family Members

Obviously I didn't get an update on here last weekend. We had a hella storm blow in over the East coast that knocked out all our power. It was a chilly 24 hours until the lights came back on. Thankfully we have a generator that keeps the necessities running...water, septic, fridge, coffee maker. 

As my cell service was also spotty it gave me the guilt free excuse to sit around under a blanket, knit and read for a whole day. (Am I a bad person for hoping the power goes out again soon. lol) 

Yes, there is a glass (cough*bottle*cough) of wine in the picture but I swear I took that in the evening. I wasn't day drinking...although it' would be a lie if I didn't. And storm chips are a "thing" out here on the East Coast and this particular mix is my favourite. 

My other life distraction is this sweet little boy, Hershey. He's a shepherd like our other dog and as adorable as can be. Don't let the lazy sleeping face fool you, he's as rambunctious and high energy as his 9month old furry sister. They've been having a great time chasing after each other. 

On the writing front I've spent the last couple days working on a query and synopsis for my sci-fi Romance - "Beneath The Surface" and today I'm back at the edits on it. My goal is to have it submitted by the end of the month and then I can focus back on writing my rough draft of Sophia Meets Seduction. 

Have a great week!

Does it really count as writing.. if I'd doing everything but?

So much to accomplish and I'm behind as usual...but I have a valid excuse!

I've been taking some online how to craft workshops, Beat Sheets, Plotting,  Email Intensives, and Organization Techniques. All of them had great information that I can use, but it's kept me busy enough that I've fallen behind my writing goals....I may have spent 3 hrs watching the Hobbit the other day too ;)

But, I'm not so far behind that I won't meet my goals this quarter. I just need to stay focused and not panic because my two youngest are starting online school tomorrow. UGH. I feel for the teachers being forced back into this madness...all while I'm contemplating day drinking to combat the lack of quiet in my home. 

Such is the madness in a "pan-dammit". This will pass, and I won't let my liver be too damaged. 

I wonder how the gods in my books would handle this madness....and if one of them started this whole thing??

Feels like something Loki, Lugh or Eris would be behind. Just so they could sit back, drink and laugh while observing humans race around and try to figure it out while fighting with each other. 

New Year Reflection and Goals

    Much like everyone else in the world, the last couple years have passed in a massive blur. It feels like December 2019 was just yesterday and here we are at the beginning of 2022.

    Personally, I've had a lot of false starts and failed attempts at much of my work. Along with a constant battle with imposter syndrome which fed my blocked creative flow....or vice verse. I'm not sure which came to the party first but they have both stayed far too long past last call. The lights are on and the bar is closing.

    We made a massive family move this past fall and relocated to the East Coast. I resigned from an employer I've been at for over twenty years. In the last three months I've realized I had been working in an incredibly toxic environment for a company that no one is allowed to say anything bad about. 

    It took leaving to realize how bad life had been.

    Having a successful NaNoWriMo went a long way to bolstering my confidence. I went in a completely different direction and wrote a SciFi romance. Which was a lot of fun and still is. Editing is a challenge as I'm still developing this work and the language that goes along with it. But, writing hasn't been this much fun in a long time. 

    I'm keeping my goals simple and obtainable for this year. If the last two years has taught me anything, it's not to trust reality to go sideways again. 

    Currently I'm editing my SciFi romance and plan to submit it to a publisher in February. I'm also writing the 3rd book to the Temptation of the Gods trilogy. You can see my progress in the column to the right of this page. :)

    I'm not sure what this year will bring, but I'm going to take it as it comes and adapt as I go.